[Actinic keratosis: the art of doing nothing].

General practitioners are frequently consulted to assess a variety of skin lesions. Actinic keratoses account for an important number of those discovered spontaneously by physicians, especially in elderly patients; they then wonder whether or not they should treat these precancerous lesions, which may become invasive and may transform into squamous cell carcinoma. However, there are clear therapeutic guidelines in place. When patients present with only a small area of actinic keratosis that shows no signs of malignancy, when patients experience no discomfort from the lesions or when they have not consulted the general practitioner because of this condition, watchful waiting is a justifiable course of action.